Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
BUILD YOUR TEMPLE!
1 Kings 6:11-13, "And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel."
Ever since the Children of Israel were freed from slavery in Egypt and God had revealed to Moses the “blueprint” of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Israel had dreamed of a permanent Temple in the Promised Land. Canaan Land was to be their home for all time and the Temple was to be the place where the presence of God lived in their midst.
In the days of King Solomon, God allowed the Temple to be built in Jerusalem. In this holy place, the Ark of the Covenant would be put in its place within the Holy of Holies and upon this Ark was the Mercy Seat, overshadowed by the Cherubim’s wings. Between their wings, resting upon the Mercy Seat, the power, presence and glory of God was ever present, shining in the wonderful light of His mercy.
God’s promise to Solomon of His continued presence in the midst of Israel was conditional upon the people of Israel and Solomon as its King, living according to the commandments and statues of Holiness, Righteousness, and Obedience.
Paul the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
Thus we see that, in the time since the death of Jesus upon the Cross, God has chosen not to dwell in a building in Jerusalem but He now lives in the heart of each man, woman and child who will surrender their lives and fulfill the same requirements of Holiness, Righteousness and Obedience.
Those same three requirements must always be met if man is to dwell in the presence of God.
Solomon began his rule as King of Israel with the right attitude and was blessed by God. He was God’s chosen man, as the son of David, to rule over the people and to build the temple that David had so carefully designed and planned but could never see completed because of his own sin.
Even though David will be in Heaven, and his throne endures forever through Jesus Christ our Lord, and even though David is known in scripture as a “man after God’s own heart”, David still had to suffer, in the flesh, the consequences of his sin.
I saw a movie recently titled “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” where three escaped criminals were on the run. One scene in this movie stands out to me more than any other.
While on the run they are involved in a baptismal scene at the river. Two of the criminals are baptized by the preacher and they immediately think that all of their past sin is gone and that they are not innocent again and the law can’t touch them.
There was no repentance or change of heart, they only got wet and nothing else but they thought the “preacher had washed their sins away”. Nothing can do that but the Blood of Jesus Christ though Repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The only one who had any intelligence among the three spoke up and his statement makes the point that I want to emphasize. He said, “The Lord may have forgiven you and washed your sin away, but the State of Mississippi isn’t so forgiving and you still have a debt to pay.”
King David found that out the hard way. First of all there was the terrible feeling of guilt that came from the sin of adultery that David committed. Then there was the loss of his son who was born as a result of that affair. Then David is not allowed to build the Temple that he had dreamed of for so long because of his sin.
Remember that Moses, God’s great Prophet and the deliverer of Israel, wasn’t allowed to go into Canaan because of his sin of anger and disobedience.
King Solomon eventually wound up in ruin and lost his kingdom because of sin and each of us will have to pay for the things we do wrong too, even though we repent.
It isn’t hard to find those who have ripped their lives apart and brought so much pain to themselves and to those around them. Even though they may come to God in repentance and allow God to make all things new, there will always be those things in life that cannot be changed and damage to relationships and people that are lasting for a lifetime.
God can wash away our sin, give us a new heart, make us whole again but the power of sin is so strong in this life that its effects are often irreversible because its tentacles reach down into the lives of those who God cannot help because they are not His children but they serve a different master called Satan.
Most Christians begin walking with the Lord with high ideals and determination to serve God and man with all their heart. Sadly, it doesn’t take long until Satan begins to attack and, if we aren’t close enough to God, our commitment begins to erode and our victory turns to defeat.
Solomon is known for his great request, not for power, riches or fame but for WISDOM to lead God’s people.
I wonder how many preachers or leaders in the church today would seek wisdom above earthy wealth or huge numbers that bring greater power and fame?
His heart was right and God blessed Solomon greatly for seeking the right things. Solomon had asked according to God’s will and God was faithful to give Solomon the wisdom he desired and added all the other blessings as a result of Solomon’s obedience.
The knowledge of Solomon’s great wisdom, power, wealth and fame spread all through the civilized world and brought dignitaries from foreign lands to observe, first hand, the great blessings that God had bestowed upon him. The Queen of Sheba was greatly impressed by Solomon’s rule, as were many others.
That should be an example to each of us that, if we would only seek after the right things, search after the heart of God through service to other people and walk in Righteousness, then God will lift us up.
Matthew 23:12, "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
Solomon should serve as an example to each of us as we live for God. We must never forget that there are those who are watching our every move and who may never know God in any greater fashion than what they can see through us!
What a great responsibility we have to present Christ through the light of our obedience in our daily lives that others may want to know Him!
1) Does our conversation show the love, mercy and grace of God – or do we talk like the world?
2) Do the places we go and the things we do bring honor to Jesus – or do only seek to bring attention and pleasure to ourselves?
3) Do people only see us or do they see Christ?
Solomon began his reign in a wonderful way, but somehow, along the way His love for God began to slip. His relationship to God began to suffer and God’s blessings began to leave him. He had forgotten the real source of his victory and began to worship the blessings instead of the Blesser!
Trusting in Wisdom alone is foolishness without a relationship with the source of wisdom. Solomon’s great wisdom did not keep him from doing foolish things. He fell into lust and idolatry.
Trusting in Great Wealth is foolishness for there is not enough wealth in the universe to purchase one moment in Heaven or to pay the sin debt of a soul without God. One preacher said it this way, “Money is a wonderful servant, but it is a Hard and Demanding Taskmaster!”
Trusting in Fame is foolishness for fame is so fleeting. Any star in Hollywood or any famous person who ever lived could tell you that you may be on top of the world today but crushed under its weight of demands tomorrow.
Just ask Elvis Presley, Clark Gable, Adoph Hitler, Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, or any one of a 1000 others. If you don’t know who some of these people were, then you make my point for me, for they were all so very popular at one time but lost their popularity and, over time, fade into the past where memories are erased by time.
King Solomon is given to us as an example of how to gain God’s best and still be a loser in the end. I cannot say whether Solomon will be in Heaven or not, that’s in God’s hands. I do know that, at the very end of what could have been a glorious life in God and a most powerful time in the history of Israel, Solomon is found to have jealousy and even hatred in his heart and his once great kingdom is given to Jereboam, who was not supposed to inherit the throne.
God’s plans continued on. He saved a part of the kingdom just as He had promised to David, as a line from which Jesus would come through the Tribe of Judah. But, all of the rest of Israel was given to Jereboam because of Solomon’s disobedience and idolatry.
What kind of Temple are you building today? Is the temple of your heart being built to honor God or yourself? Is your temple being built on the Rock, Christ Jesus, or is it being built on the sands of wealth, fame and your own wisdom?
In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus says these words, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."
It still takes the elements that we read about in I Kings to build the temple of your heart and experience God’s best for your life. Anything less than God’s best means that sin, either past or present, is limiting what God will do through you.
“Concerning this house that you are building…if thou wilt walk in my statutes…
God still requires a walk of holiness before Him. Works cannot save you but if you have a right relationship with God, your works will reflect it and you will walk to walk in obedience to the Will of God. The things you desire to do will all become things that are right and good and above reproach. We cannot say that we love God and then do those things that hurt our relationship with him.
Which of us could say that we love our children, our husband or wife and then constantly beat on them, ignore them, abuse them and maintain a loving and close relationship at the same time. Yet, that’s the way most people who call themselves “Christians” treat their relationship with the Lord.
… and execute my judgments…
God’s judgments are always tempered in love and compassion with a way of escape for those who will turn back to Him in repentance. Surely He must punish sin, for the wages of sin is death and that sentence must be carried out, but God, in His great mercy, has given us a way of escape from that too. His judgments are still carried out but through Jesus Christ, our death is complete and we can live forever. Without Christ, that sentence of death is still there and we shall surely die.
If we would only learn to punish those who do wrong using the same love and compassion principles that God uses, we would see child abuse and spousal abuse disappear from the face of the earth. The reason it will never go away, but only grow worse as the years pass is that Satan is the god of this world and his only desire is to steal, kill and destroy. He has no mercy, no grace and will cause those who serve him to do greater and more heinous crimes against their own loved ones.
… and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee…
If you want your temple of the heart to be a place where God dwells; if you want to experience God’s best for your life; if you want to have real victory, peace and joy in your home; these three things must be in your heart also.
Obedience is better than sacrifice is the way the Bible puts it. Obedience to God’s Law, God’s Love and God’s Plan for your life are necessary to have the Temple of God in your heart and have the presence of God live within. If we would learn to obey God we wouldn’t feel the need for sacrificial prayers, offerings or works to pay a penance for sin.
Solomon found out what happens when you build the temple of your heart upon the sands of rebellion and sin. He lost his kingdom and maybe even his very soul.
Let us not follow in his footsteps but let’s build upon the rock of Jesus Christ through obedience to Him
